Pennine Lancashire consortium of local authorities: Year 2 Q3 update

Planning

• Third draft of Deep dive work produced following feedback and getting to final stages (sent to planners for further feedback)
• Developed Planners Joint Agreement (formerly called the Memorandum of Understanding - MOU) to support adoption process once the project ends complete and sent to planners for feedback.
• Supported Blackburn with Darwen Council (BwD) in youth engagement element of the local plan consultation. Social Sense (SS) conducted an online survey (n=50) and three virtual consultation sessions with Children and Young People (CYP). This has now been written into a report and key learnings shared. SS holding two sessions with Burnley and Hyndburn and will write up work on proactive behaviour change into a toolkit around June /July.
• Continued to work with public health colleagues at BwD to pull together the data for the planning evidence base. Using MapInfo to overlay data and provide districts with detailed information on childhood overweight/obesity and a variety of data including hot food takeaways and convenience stores, greenspace and opportunities for physical activity, and food growing.
• Working closely with Pendle BC (planning and policy leads) to support their local plan consultation. Funding has been allocated to develop a health and wellbeing video to support the consultation.

Recipe4Health

• Recipe4Health (R4H)/Business Incentives work ongoing (gathering insight about other catering schemes nationally)
• Renewed content of R4H Award to include portion sizes, food waste, nutrition, environmental factors. Passed to Lancashire CC Trading Standards for review. Based on agreement of the renewed R4H Award approved, we will contact businesses more widely.
• We have contacted existing businesses with the R4H Award to understand whether the current award branding is attractive to help built a case for rebranding of the award.
• Menu analysis of A5s in the pilot sites continues.
• Continued relationship with Just Eat, meeting every eight x weeks re R4H scheme business engagement
• Engaged with local food growers regarding their current relationship with local food businesses.
• Work with councils to develop support packages for businesses

Elected Members/System Leadership

• Held ninth successful virtual Pennine Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Elected Member Forum meeting – continue to hold regular catch ups (next meetings scheduled to take place in March and May).
• Providing targeted support to local authorities woo have not adopted Healthy Weight declaration.
• Developed Elected member roadmap to explain how they can get involved in HPHF.
• Elected Member physical activity challenge developed encouraging Elected Members to map out a local walk suitable for CYP and families; currently connecting this campaign to national Public health England (PHE) Better Health Campaign and Change4life before launching.
• Participation of 2 Elected Members in the Food Active Annual Conference (+ 300 attendees) and 3 elected members in the LGA webinar (+ 40 attendees).
• Two 30-minute ‘Trailblazer Taster’ sessions held in March and Elected Members will work with district leads to look at district specific areas of need.
• Further briefing sessions around COVID recovery to be arranged every 6 weeks based on 6 EM proposed themes including mental wellbeing, resilience, digital etc
• Six to eight weekly meetings with district leads, beginning to set action plans for each district in relation to 4 levers

Social movement

• Three #burnleygetshangry campaigns due to commence in early March with consultation sessions run by Burnley Youth Theatre. #hyndburngetshangry planned to begin once the Civic Arts Theatre Oswaldtwistle reopens. Interest from Elected Members in attending #getshangry consultation sessions with young people in Burnley and Hyndburn.
• Plan to partner with Together an Active Ribble Valley to start activities for the Great Big Junk Food Debate.
• Written up our Creative Consultation activities with CYP so far into a toolkit. Bite Back 2030 and Sustain have shown interest in sharing this learning.
• Completed five-week delivery with students in Rossendale. Worked with one school in areas like making healthier takeaway choices and cooking (no food technology classes have been taught for one year) Key consultation to be written into a report and include learnings.
• The children’s book ‘Max’s Not So Sweet Dream’ is complete and ready to print - campaign launch currently in planning phase.
• Seven podcasts recorded, three with elected members and been featured on website.
• Produced two newsletters and increased social media following.

General

• ‘Assets and opportunities’ infographics are complete and ready to launch.
• Continued work with PH colleague at BwD on Evidence Base.
• Healthier Place Healthier Future Steering Board meeting held in March
• Mid-project process evaluation underway and working on Theory of Change.
• Met with Steering Board to specifically look at action planning for year 3 – mid-way process evaluation and key findings were presented. Basis of discussion was key objectives per lever and what can be achieved by the programme end, based on the process evaluation.

Learnings

• Using MapInfo to overlay data and provide districts with detailed info on childhood overweight/obesity - now have maps complete for obesity levels of 11-year olds and takeaways and looking to layer with other place-based detail
• Feedback from youth consultation in Blackburn with Darwen highlights value of community spaces, parks, the need for subsidised youth activities and a desire for local cooking classes
• Consultation key learnings to be identified and shared widely
• Elected members give very valuable feedback and need to be liaised/communicated with well in advance of meetings/events (due to availability constraints)
• Numerous conversations with various healthier catering schemes nationally allowed learning sharing in contacting businesses, attracting new businesses, supporting (EHOs).
• Need to build in time for learning and evaluation
• Due to the lack of current engagement in businesses, currently looking at other routes of attracting businesses to serve a healthier offer - looking at working in schools In Rossendale to educate children around nutritional menus in a creative way.
• Maintaining regular communication (e.g. via a monthly update) for districts ensures leads and stakeholders feel involved.
• Partnering with local organisations (such as youth theatres) has been an invaluable way of connecting to communities in areas and engaging CYP.
• Creative methods of communication have worked well to win over stakeholders, e.g. through podcasts.

Challenges

• New planning white paper = potential implications for programme around supporting Councils with Local Plan making and developing.
• Supplementary planning docs to restrict A5s - to be considered post consultation/regulations in place.
• The end of the Trailblazer programme in June 2022 means Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) will pick up ongoing work; looking at ways to facilitate whilst considering impact of COVID on their ‘day job’.
• R4H work delayed recently, has been difficult time for many businesses – work will resume at pace when shops begin to open.
• COVID-19 has brought much disruption, reduced capacity inc Food Active Programme lead leaving earlier this year - new lead now in place (Local impact) and good virtual engagement with groups now.
• Digital literacy and inclusion with many CYP not having devices to join – impact on social movement.

Next steps

• Planners Joint Agreement waiting for ratification and will be sent out to district leads and planners for comment.
• Complete healthy weight module (momentum building).
• Develop action plans for district leads, elected member champion role (responsibility across PCN and LA, role description being developed) and peer to peer model.
• Produce case studies from Elected member physical activity challenge.
• Communicate with and onboard new Elected members following election inc running another 30 minute ‘Trailblazer’ in June.
• Deploy renewed R4H award with businesses.
• Engage with local food growers re their relationship with local food businesses.
• Work with councils to develop support packages for businesses.
• Work with Shift to ask them to mentor a business in each pilot site (near a school).
• Data collection - will review evaluation framework and define key metrics to capture.
• Capture the learnings and produce case studies through the #getshangry campaigns.
• Connect with national campaigns/organisations on various projects – e.g. Food Waste Action Week, Bite Back 2030.
• Update toolkit every 6 months.
• Continue to support the Food Active Programme lead in transitioning to the project.
• Run community projects in Ribble Valley for the Great Big Junk Food Debate.
• Launch all EM learning resources (portal, HWB module, HW module, infographs).
• Aim to run face-to-face consultation in the social movement and business engagement (when restrictions allow).
• Host a steering group and expert panel meeting in early June.
• Share and review district action plans.
• Set small projects for each district (design school meal/poster)
• Share learning from the BwD Local Plan Consultation with young people.
• Following the symposium, a local event has been planned for the autumn.